Conditions of contracts worry ZCTU

Conditions of contracts worry ZCTU

Solwezi, May 3, ZANIS —— The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)says the practice of using long service and age as criteria to award workers must be stopped because it does not motivate productivity.

The union mother body has also said that it does not approve of the labour awards that are rotated from one worker to another.

ZCTU National Deputy Secretary for general organisation and administration Cosmas Mukuka said this in Solwezi in a statement to mark Labour Day celebrations on May 1.

Mr Mukuka said Labour Day awards must be used to motivate productivity which cannot be determined by a worker’s long service and age.

He said there is also an observed practice where supervisors use a rotation criterion to award workers which the union does not approve.

“You find that if one worker was awarded in 2010, the company or organisation will not award him for the next three years because they need to award others,” he said.

He said ZCTU does not approve of this criterion as it takes away the essence of motivating productivity.

Mr Mukuka added that employers should now be looking at motivating productivity by awarding teams in the work place instead of individuals.

“If Kansanshi mine realises improved productivity in a given year, it is not an achievement by a single or a few individuals but a team. Therefore the best thing to is to motivate all the workers if possible,” Mr Mukuka said.

And National Union of Mining and Allied Workers (NUMAW) President Adams Zulu has asked government to enact legislation that will regulate contract works.

Mr Zulu said there is need to stop one year contracts which are common in the mining firms around the country.

He said a check with most contracts that mines give to workers are unfair as they give three months probation and six months after confirmation the contract expires.

He noted that this practice is not good if unemployment is to be reduced in the country.